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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Some people choose to walk the walk # 3

I was going to change this because of yesterday's news - but perhaps it's even more important now that we hear as many uplifting stories as our hearts will allow us to absorb - because I cannot take - absolutely cannot take in yesterday

This is OUR world guys - the wonderful world of the internet ( I think I may have ranted about it in the past actually - but today I think it's a wonderful thing )

Holiday spirit is alive and well -- and spreading like wildfire on the Internet. A group of Redditors have come together to help father of four Michael Corrigan buy Christmas gifts for his children. Now, he's paying it forward, distributing the donations to even more families in need.

It started when Corrigan, who lives in Virginia Beach and goes by ProZacDose on Reddit posted his story, using the forum as a place to vent. He labeled himself a "failure" and explained that after a series of unfortunate events, he is "barely scrapping by" financially. He has been unable to pay his water and electric bills and feared that they would be shut off. With the holidays approaching, Corrigan was devastated that he wouldn't be able to give his kids, ages ages 11, 7, and twin boys who are 3, the kind of Christmas that he had hoped for.

"My kids are asking me why we don't have a Christmas tree? How am I supposed to tell them that we can't afford one?" he asked. "I am dreading Christmas morning, and wish I can just escape all of this."

After reading the post, Redditor girlinthecity decided to lend Corrigan more than just emotional support and offered to help relieve some of his financial stress. She wrote:

I would like to pay for your past due water bill. I am 100% serious. Please PM me to see how we can figure this out. There is no reason your children should have to do without; you are not a failure. So many of us don't realize how easy it is to get into a tough situation. We're all practically one paycheck away from it. Let me help you.

Several other commenters piggybacked on her generosity and offered to pitch in as well. Soon, the community convinced Corrigan to set up a fund on the site Indiegogothat would make it easy for people to donate. He also posted a link to an Amazon Wish List with all of the toys his kids wanted for Christmas. As the fund grew, Corrigan added grateful updates to his original post. And when he received enough money to pay off his water bill and most of his power bill, he shared the heartwarming photo of his children:

(Story continues below photo.)

Donations kept pouring in and the fund reached $10,180 before Corrigan discontinued it. He explained in his updates that he was giving the extra money and toys from the Wish List to his brother's family and to others in his community.

"ALL extra money and toys will be going to others so I can spread your love. PLEASE PLEASE help others out here who need it now, let's make this a night amazing for others as well. Thank You for everything," he wrote. He closed the Indiegogo fund and is now directing those who come across the link to SubReddit "assistance" to help others in need.

AND MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS STORY IS?

That he closed the account - I've heard other stories like this where the person accepts donations upwards of half a million dollars ( and more ). He took what he needed - paid some of it forward - and closed the account asking that others now be helped as well.

This is such a heartwarming story on so many levels................................

And this is what Christmas should be about, truly, because all it took was ONE person to offer to help him - and it snowballed from there. Generosity is contagious and the best addiction to have.
AND there is still lots of good in the world - let's cling to that for a bit.................................

Suzan this is definitely the kind of story we need to hear at this time. I have been so by what has happened that any goodness in this world is, at this time, a very welcome thing. My heart is still heavy and tears still flow so easily - thank you for giving us something to smile about today....

It was hard to get up this morning and post...took awhile to hit the enter button. You are so right though, and I think people need to stop and really consider the "good" that they themselves do in the world.Hopefully they have some point of reference. I wrote a post about paying it forward sometime ago and it was about lessons taught to me by my dad. I think this father you are posting about has taught some really important lessons to his own children. We have to make all these positive events snowball in order to spread a movement of positive energy. I worked with a woman who faced a lot of negativity in her life and she always told me that the secret is to kill 'em with kindness. You know what, it really works. She turned people around, moved to think beyond themselves. I apologize for rambling.... good post.

This is just what I needed to hear today. By sharing this story, you have reminded us all of the "lean times" we've all been through and that it is often through others, whether it is a donation or a job offer, that we get our feet and heart back on solid ground. Thank you for sharing.

I've never heard of this website before so I had to go see it. God certainly must have put that first poster there at the right time. She got the ball rolling and it snowballed fantastically! I had to giggle though when the man mentioned a "girlfriend" and then "their mother" in the same paragraph. I'm guessing they are the same person. Very sad that he got hate mail and death threats from that. What is WRONG with people! GEESH !

Due to a large amount of spam ( that I'm tired of going back to posts and deleting ) I'll be using comment moderation from now on !!!Can I beat these spammers at their own game? Probably not - but I'm goingto try my damnedest !!!xoxo